Iraqis Turning Surge Into "Joke"

July 9, 2007
Iraqis Turning Surge Into "Joke"

(CBS/AP) President Bush is not contemplating withdrawing forces from Iraq now despite an erosion of support among Republicans for his war policy, the White House said Monday. However, a senior administration official who has been to Iraq many times tells CBS News the Iraqis have made the surge "a joke," adding that they lack the ability, the firepower and the discipline to take over anything.

A senior Pentagon official tells CBS News chief White House correspondent Jim Axelrod that a debate is underway to determine what conditions must exist, short of victory, to begin pulling troops out of Iraq.